Valtteri Bottas who moved on from Williams to Mercedes a few years ago is now a top driver and is on top of the leader board for the current Formula 1 season as well.

The Mercedes driver finished at the pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and extended his lead at the top of the Formula 1 leaderboard. The Finnish driver has two wins and two second-place finishes this season, but he sits at the top courtesy of the bonus point he had earned for the fastest lap in the Australian Grand Prix.

Now that he sits on top of the leaderboard and might clinch the title at the end of the season, here are some of the lesser known facts about the driver.

Early start

Just like most other Formula 1 drivers, Valtteri Bottas started off at an early age as well. He potentially kicked off his career when he got into a go-kart at the age of six. He stuck to go-karts for the longest time and collected a cluster of championships. In 2007, he made the shift to cars and won the Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup. In the subsequent season, he joined Williams as a test driver in 2010.

His Favourites

Valtteri Bottas in Melbourne (Source: Instagram/valtteribottas)

The driver has a favourite in almost every section, be it food or fashion.
Valtteri Bottas loves his steak and hanging out in Melbourne, which is his favourite city. While you would always see him wearing a watch as that is his favourite fashion accessory. The driver also loves his job and the favourite part about it is the fact that he simply gets to drive.

Mentor Mika

Maki Hakkinen is Valtteri Bottas’ idol (Source: Twitter)

There are many that have helped Valtteri shape up his career and drive it in the right direction. Among others, it was Mika Hakkinen, two-time world champion and fellow Finnish national, who is Bottas’ childhood champion. Hakkinen has bestowed a lot of faith in Valtteri and was always of the thought that he had what it takes to become a champion racer.

Nastola’s very own son

While now he must be seated in a paradise-y mansion somewhere in Monaco, the driver did not have the best facilities growing up. He hails from a modest Finnish town called Nastola, which has a population of only 14,905 according to the last count in 2015. The town has merged with the adjacent city of Lahti in 2016.